John Donahoo

John Donahoo (sometimes spelled Donahoe) (1786–1858) was a lighthouse builder active in Maryland for much of the first half of the nineteenth century.

Biography

Little is known of Donahoo's life, but he appears to have been an active citizen in Havre de Grace, Maryland, for much of his career; he was an election judge and town commissioner, and served on the school board. He was also an active businessman, with concerns in fishing and real estate. As a builder, Donahoo attracted the attention of Stephen Pleasonton, Fifth Auditor of the United States Treasury and overseer of lighthouse construction for the government; Donahoo's prices were low and the quality of his work was good. Consequently, he was awarded the contracts for a dozen lighthouses in Maryland and Virginia. Seven of these still stand:[1]

He also constructed the following lighthouses:[1]

Thomas Point Light (1825, replaced by a second stone tower in 1838)
Fog Point Light (1827, superseded by the Solomons Lump Light in 1875)
Lazaretto Point Light (1831, demolished in 1926; replica built on original site in 1985)
Clay Island Light (1832, collapsed in 1894 after deactivation)
Watts Island Light (1833, destroyed in a storm in 1944) – this was his only light built outside of Maryland
Blakistone Island Light (1851, destroyed by fire in 1956)

Donahoo died in 1858, and was buried in Havre de Grace's Angel Hill Cemetery.[1]

References

Simms, William Q. (April 2001). "Two Lights on the Hill". Lighthouse Digest Magazine. Archived from the original on 2023-02-16. Retrieved 2023-02-15.

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[lighthouse-1] Simms, William Q. (April 2001). "Two Lights on the Hill". Lighthouse Digest Magazine. Archived from the original on 2023-02-16. Retrieved 2023-02-15.